The Woods
by fictionalamelia
Summary: Eight cousins wander into a wood. They encounter many creatures and have to try to get out before ill fate befalls them...


A gasp escaped Amelia's lips. She clenched her teeth as her stomach was pulled in.  
"Must I wear one of these?" She gasped again as Claudia pulled the strings tighter.

"Yes miss. Your mother requests you wear one." Frowning, Claudia tightened again and finished.

"You can put on the dress?" Amelia shook her head crossly.

"No of course not. Help me." Then seeing Claudia's face added, "Please." Claudia sighed and gently pulled the gown over Amelia's head. She quickly and confidently buttoned up the back, curtsied and left the room. Amelia sat down on her bed and Jane wandered in.

"What do you want?"

"Why are you so cross? Mother says to pack your music books and umbrella." Heading back towards to the door, Jane turned and smugly added, "Oh and hurry up. We don't all want to be late you know." Amelia answered with a pillow thrown at Jane's head. She winced as the corset pulled her back. When she was sure Jane was well and truly gone she ran around her room trying to find her books.

"Amelia! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Amelia muttered. Rushing she forgot her coat.

Amelia and Jane sat across from Fredrick and Oliver in the new automobile. Their parents sat in the front driving. Caroline Day, their mother turned around.

"Everything okay? Good, let's get going then!"

The day was sunny, but Elizabeth was inside, 'watching' her brothers. She looked over the lawn. Various gardeners were working on the many garden beds and abundant trees. She only looked away from the scene when James started yelling. John had stolen his blocks yet again. Elizabeth turned back to the window. She started humming a song. Her sister Agnes watched the two boys fight with a mix of amusement and horror.

"Stop kicking me!"

"I'm not kicking you!"

"Get off me!" The boys' voices steadily rose higher and higher.

"Masters, madam requests you quieten down." The butler delivered his message and quickly moved away. Once or twice those legs had been led astray. Agnes jumped away when the fight came near her. She turned when she heard her mother's footsteps.

"Hurry up! Let's go. John! James! Stop it right now and get in the car!" Jessica Parker turned to the hall mirror and fixed any stray hairs.

"Ouch! Don't punch me!" Jessica turned back, eyes flashing.

"What did I just say?" The two boys continued fighting.

"Gerald! Come and sort out these two." Jessica sighed and turned away. The two sisters were ushered into the car. Shortly after their brothers joined them.

"Now I want you on your best behaviour, understand?" When James didn't nod she repeated.

"Yes mum." James muttered. He sorely touched his face where John had punched his eye. He sighed; it would be blue and black before too long.

The table was set, the silver polished and a few lollies for the children. The servants were still cooking but that was expected. Madeline Day looked at her watch. Lunch was scheduled for one o'clock. She poured herself some champagne. Jonathon had just come back from France. She smiled. He only got the best. Hearing the gravel crunching, Madeline settled herself in the back room. She smiled as the Parkers entered.

"Hello children. How are we all?"

"We're good nana." The four children walked over and each gave Madeline a kiss.

"Sit down, sit down. Hello darling." Madeline stood up and kissed Jessica.

"Hello Gerald. You are well? Good, good. Sit down." Gerald smiled.

"No it's okay Madeline, I'll stand."

Jonathon wandered in with some cups.

"Hello hello."

"Hi Pa." The Day children replied in unison.

"Who wants a drink?"

"Me please."

"Me too."

"And me."

"Thanks Pa."  
The gravel crunched again. Two minutes later Michael and Monica walked in.

"Hello Michael. Hello Monica. Sit down, sit down. Jonathon. Jonathon! Get these two a drink." Jonathon rolled his eyes and got up again. The front room got nosier as laughter and drinks were exchanged. Eliza walked in.

"Hello children. Everyone good?"

"Hi Aunty Eliza."

"Eliza, what did you do? Walk here?" Eliza made a face.

"No mum, don't' be stupid. I just got a taxi and walked up the drive."

"Oh okay then. But you need to be careful, have you heard what's been happening…" Madeline turned to Jessica and Monica. The gravel crunched once more as the Dawsons car rolled up. Two minutes later Fredrick staggered in with a combination of parcels and bags. Amelia and Jane followed with Oliver, Nicholas and Caroline half pushing them through the door.

"Hello darlings." Madeline stayed sitting. The Dawson children went through the same process as the Parkers, with lots of kissing and cups being handed around. Once everyone was settled in a chair or on the floor, Madeline got up to check the food. She shooed the servants away and busied herself with the oven. Caroline, Jessica and Eliza at different times asked to help. Madeline always refused. Finally the food was ready. A table was set in the dining room, but the children were banished to the kitchen. Amelia and Elizabeth sat with the adults. Elizabeth sat at one end of the table with Madeline. Amelia sat at the other end with Jonathon. Michael, Monica, Jessica and Gerald sat on one side with Caroline, Nicholas and Eliza on the other. There were many different conversations held at this table, many jokes and many, many good-natured arguments.

"John shut up!" Jessica yelled through to the kitchen where John seemed to be leading a game that involved lots of screaming and laughing.

"Elizabeth, go sort out your brothers will you?" Elizabeth pushed back her chair and walked out.

"You go as well Amelia." Caroline nodded towards the door. Amelia followed her cousin. When Amelia had walked down the passage to the kitchen, the others weren't there. She walked out to the front yard but they had disappeared. Going out the back to the orchard she saw them all staring intensely at the ground.

"What is it?" Amelia asked tentatively as she approached the children. Elizabeth was kneeling on the ground.

"We're only choosing whose it stupid."

"Oh, sorry John." The two made faces and then cracked up. Elizabeth looked up.

"Want to join in?"

"Yeah sure." After several games of hide and seek, tiggy, running races, teasing the dogs and trying to catch birds, the children were bored.

"Let's explore. I haven't been here for ages." John suggested. Jane looked back at the house where the adults were still eating.

"Last one to the creek is a rotten egg." Jane yelled before sprinting off. The children didn't even look at each other before following. The creek wound around the property before leading the eight children into a small wood. Light filtered in through the trees, lighting up the path. Little birds flitted around. Oliver chased after a couple before tiring. James stopped and stared into the creek.

"Hey! There's trout!" The cousins walked on.

"Hello? This could be a good fishing place!" Only John turned back.

"Hurry up James, no one cares." The two boys ran to catch up.

The children walked among the trees, laughing and playing. The path was level and snaked around the trees, gradually taking the cousins deeper into the wood. The creek gradually become wider and wider, eventually becoming an angry river. The rapids were faster than any and there were even waves. The children were so preoccupied with themselves they did not notice the trees growing denser, the light becoming darker and that they were getting increasingly further from home. It wasn't till another half hour later that they finally stopped in a clearing. They sat in a circle, noticing how cold and dark it had became. Amelia shivered. Fredrick looked around. Trees, trees and more trees. He looked back at the path. He frowned and turned the other way.

"Um guys? Where's the path?" Elizabeth got up and walked back the way they had come. She kicked at the ground.

"What way did we come from?" Agnes stood up and walked over to Elizabeth.

"Didn't we come from over here?"

"Well that's what I thought too." The two girls walked around the perimeter of the clearing. Around and around, trying to find the way out. Finally their brothers got up to look as well. Then their cousins got up. The children were becoming increasingly panicked, the path was over here, no it was over here, but didn't we pass that tree. All the trees look the same stupid. Yeah but this one is different. Amelia finally cracked it at Jane.

"That tree can't be different because all the trees are the bloody same!" Jane stopped walking and sat down on a log. James started to run. He ran around and around the clearing. Kicking the dirt, and ripping up the plants that grew on the side, he felt the world close in on him. John ran across to him. He grabbed him and shook him.

"Stop it James! Don't lose it! It'll be fine. All of them are probably looking for us." James stood there, numb. Shaking he whispered.

"Yeah, but they're probably not going to be looking for us here are they?" James wrenched himself from John and they began to fight. It was then that they stumbled across the Old Man. He was kneeling on the ground. The two boys literally fell on top of him. Shocked they ran back to their sisters and cousins.

He had the appearance of a homeless man. His beard was white and bushy. He wore a shabby hat and was barefoot. He seemed to be lost in his own world. A fire crackled in front of him. The river still ran beside the path. The children stared at him for what seemed an age. John, James and Fred looked at each other, nodded and started to walk towards him. Jane cried out. The three boys turned back.

"Should we really go up to him?" Jane asked. The boys snorted.

"What? He could be some criminal, or an escaped lunatic, or…" That made the boys laugh harder. The Old Man didn't stir. James started towards him. Elizabeth grabbed his sleeve. James looked back.

"Don't get yourself into trouble." Elizabeth frowned.

"He is on Nana and Pa's property." James sniffed. Elizabeth let go of his arm.

"Yeah, but I'm still not sure." Before she could do anything else, the three boys strolled up to the Old Man. They looked like giants standing over the Old Man. The other children looked on from a distance.

"Yeah, excuse me sir? But what are you doing here? Who are you?" John smirked. The Old Man didn't flutter an eyelid when he looked up into John's face. Bracing himself for an answer, John crossed his arms. The Old Man opened his mouth, hesitated and then closed it. He continued to stare into the fire.

"What did he say?" Agnes pulled down on Elizabeth's dress. Elizabeth pushed her off, causing the two of them and Oliver to fall slightly backwards.

"I don't know, I can't hear either." While the sisters exchanged whispers the boys were becoming impatient.

"Hello? Old Man?" Fred waved his hand in front of the Old Man's face. The movement made him look up.

Fredrick exchanged a smirk with James. The Old Man looked back into the fire. They watched the fire as well. Suddenly Fredrick felt an explosion inside his head. He could feel the blood rushing faster and faster through his head. A voice started whispering things to his conscience. He looked to John and James to tell them but they had the same expression on their faces. From behind them, they heard a scream. Fredrick spun around. Jane was running down a fork in the path. He frowned. When had that appeared? Then he saw what she was running from. It looked like a swarm of bees. He looked closer. The bees looked like people, with wings… Fredrick shook his head.

"C'mon we have to help her." He turned around to his cousins. Their eyes were wide, and their arms were pressed right to their sides. Fredrick raised his eyebrows. They were standing so still…

"Hello? C'mon, let's go!" John and James didn't move. Fredrick ran over and shoved James. He didn't even quiver. Fredrick shoved James harder. He still didn't budge. Fredrick turned to John. Fredrick punched him in the gut. John blinked furiously. Fredrick tried to think quickly. He turned to John.

"Can you move at all?" John blinked furiously. Fredrick put up his hands.

"Hang on. Blink once for yes, twice for no." John blinked twice. It was then Fredrick heard Jane scream again. He twisted around. He ran towards the other group. Elizabeth stood there wringing her hands.

"Jane ran off she was getting chased by, by…"

"By what? I have to go after her!" Elizabeth's eyes widened.

"But Amelia got pulled away by…" Fred shook her.

"What! Where did Amelia go?" Elizabeth winced as Fredrick's hands dug into her arms.

"I don't really know…she was standing beside that tree. Then the next moment she had disappeared." Jane screamed again. Fredrick swore. Jane was out in the woods somewhere being chased by, he didn't really want to think what, it was impossible. Fredrick's mind was going in all directions. He walked up and down. He turned to Oliver.

"Oliver, get off the ground." Elizabeth turned nervously to Fredrick.

"Another thing, Oliver just, kinda, like fell asleep." Fredrick stood there, stunned.

"What?" Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders.

"Agnes did the same thing, just out of the blue, held her head…" Elizabeth yawned.

"And then she sat down, and fell - " Elizabeth sat down and closed her eyes. Fredrick groaned. They were all useless except him. He turned to the tree where Amelia had disappeared. He knocked on the wood. He jumped when Jane's scream became higher and more frantic. Trying to not feel stupid, he talked to the tree.

"Amelia, you in there?" The branches moved with no wind. Fredrick smiled grimly.

"Are you okay?" Another movement.

"I'll be back, okay? Jane is getting killed by, well I don't know what, but it's something weird." Fredrick looked at the tree one last time and ran off in the direction of Jane. He didn't see the tree waving its branches frantically.

Amelia was in the tree. She had heard Fred's voice and started to beat crazily on the side of the tree. Nothing had seemed to happen, but Fred spoken and said something about Jane. The dryad who lived in the old oak had become lonely of late, and when he saw a group of children he took the chance, and abducted one to be his friend. Amelia now stood still in the cool interior of the tree. She had her back pressed to the wall. The dryad was standing on the opposite side. He had long tangled hair, brown skin and was wearing only a pair of shorts. His feet were dirty and his teeth were gleaming in the darkness. Amelia felt her heart beating against her rib cage. Her tongue felt dry and mammoth in her mouth. She licked her lips. The dryad was just standing there, not saying anything. Amelia fidgeted as the dryad stared and stayed silent. While the dryad was trying to figure her out, Amelia looked for a way to escape. She felt the wall. It wasn't uneven and bumpy like the bark on the outside of the tree, but smooth. She could feel the individual fibres of the tree's insides. She pulled her hand away as she felt a splinter enter her finger. The dryad walked slowly towards her. Amelia tried to disappear into the wood of the tree. The dryad continued advancing. Amelia felt her chest tightening. All of her mother's warnings were coming back to her. Stranger Danger, Never Go Past The Back Fence, Never Enter The Woods…

The dryad stopped before her. He seemed to cock his head to one side. Amelia gulped. What if this weird creature was a cannibal? Amelia's eyes widened. She didn't want to be eaten. How unseemly. Her eyes darted desperately around the tree for a way to get out, something to hit the creature with, anything. The creature stepped forward.

"What's your name?"

"What?" Amelia almost squawked. The dryad creature seemed amused.

"You do have a name do you?" Amelia pressed herself even harder against the wall.

"Yes." The dryad braced himself. Amelia bit her lip.

"Well. What is it?" Amelia tried once more to find something that would help her.

"I-I-I don't really want to tell you." The dryad raised his eyebrows.

"Why ever not? If we are going to be friends I need to be able to call you something."

"What?" Amelia spluttered. The creature frowned.

"I caught you to be my friend, and you are being extremely rude, always saying what to my questions."

Amelia started to slide left across the wall. The dryad followed her. Suddenly he darted in front of her. Amelia screeched and ran the other way. The dryad was just behind. Amelia could feel his warm breath on her neck. She desperately ran around the perimeter of the tree. She didn't know if she hadn't completed a circuit or done ten. It was almost comical, the way they ran around in a circle. The dryad soon tired of the game and grabbed her dress. Amelia started to cry. Big racking sobs that enveloped her body. The dryad was scared. He had never seen someone cry before.

"Whatever are you doing that for?"

"Because I am frightened!" Amelia said indignantly.

"Why? There is nothing to be scared of!"

"But aren't you going to eat me?" The dryad laughed and laughed and laughed.

"Why would I want to eat you?" Amelia looked up. She shrugged her shoulders.

"In the Caribbean there are islanders who eat each other. They are called cannibals."

The dryad looked incredulous. He walked away. Amelia pulled herself off the ground. The dryad appeared again. He stood farther away from her now and seemed wary of Amelia. She looked herself up and down. She straightened her dress and tried to untangle her loose hair. The dryad stepped forward.

"I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm sorry; it's just that I wanted a friend. I am so lonely out here."

"But aren't there other creatures?" The dryad bristled.

"I am not a creature, I am a dryad!" Amelia bit her lip. She looked at the ground. Now the creature was definitely going to eat her. The dryad took her hand. Amelia looked up.

"Would you like some tea and cookies?" Amelia hesitated.

"Would it help if I promise not to eat you?" Amelia nodded gratefully and followed the dryad through a secret passage to the living room.

The Naiads accession out of the water was magnificent. Their ship rose out of the water like a flower blooming in spring. The water parted and the _Oceania _rose up on the water spray, coming to rest on the rapid river. A blue man slid down off the mast and down to the anchor. Barking orders as he walked around, other blue people followed them. As a group dropped the golden sails, another ran to the anchor. Heaving and pushing, they managed to push it down into the water, where it sank and ran across the river bend. Eventually it came to rest among a nestle of rocks. The blue man stood back and let it all happen.

"We are stable Captain." The blue man turned to the speaker. He was shorter and stockier than the blue man, and had a little red cap on. He was awaiting new orders, but the blue man, the Captain waved him away. His spies had told him of eight children wandering in the woods, unaccompanied by adults. He smiled. This was the perfect chance to recruit some new crewmembers. He looked to the riverbank. His eyes widened. This was almost too easy.

The Naiads slipped into the river. Swimming easily against the current they pulled themselves onto the riverbank. There were three children sleeping, two girls and a boy. The Naiads grinned at each other. Before they could step any closer, their Captain hissed. They looked to where he pointed and jumped back. The children slept within a circle of mushrooms, a fairy domain. Their Captain hissed again and walked off.

John tried to wiggle his toes. He couldn't even flex them, let alone move them up and down. He attempted to sigh but his tongue wouldn't even budge. He tried to groan, but his throat was constricted. Inside his head he screamed, he couldn't even groan! He looked around the clearing. Something was up with his sisters. Both of them were asleep on the ground. So was Oliver. John felt the need to stamp his foot. He looked over to the Old Man. That jerk was the reason they were all like this. James had a look of frustration on his face. John made frantic eye movements at James, the Old Man was moving! The Old Man had heaved himself up and was leaning on a tree. He seemed to be staring in the direction of Elizabeth and Agnes. John turned his eyes as quickly as he could towards them. He recoiled inside. There were _blue_ things sneaking around the girls. John turned to James and saw his eyes popping out as well. These blue things stood like people but they had webbed hands and feet and seemed to have gills on the sides on their faces. But they were breathing like humans. John could see their chests heaving. His eyes darted back to the Old Man. He seemed worried. He kept looking back at his fire and then back at the blue things. John felt his heart rise in his chest as the blue things crept closer and closer to his sister. Then suddenly one of the blue things looked right at him and James. The blue thing made a high gurgling sound and Old Man flattened himself against the tree. All the blue things now stared at where the Old Man was trying to hide. The Old Man seemed to be almost sweating. Then a weird, low-pitched sound echoed through the trees. James goggled. The blue things were laughing? He glanced at John who seemed to be as puzzled as him. They both looked at the Old Man, who now looked to be very embarrassed. James almost burst out laughing, if he could have. The blue things were laughing at the Old Man! The Old Man scowled at the two boys. He walked up to John. John felt the same explosion inside his head. The Old Man smirked and composed himself before walking out to the Naiads. As he walked further away the fire became smaller and smaller. John focused himself on the interchange between the Old Man and blue things. While he couldn't hear anything, he could see that the blue things had some kind of power over the Old Man. He cowered as one of the blue things frowned and spoke. James was watching the fire. It had slowly become little more than a spark. James involuntarily leaned forward. Suddenly he fell flat on his face. He glanced at the Old Man. He was too far away to notice. John was concentrating too hard on the Old Man to notice he could move. James ran up to him.

"John! Let's go!" John started. He stared down at his hands and whooped with delight. James covered his mouth.

"Shut up you idiot. He might hear you!" John shook himself free.

"Okay. Where do we go?" James stared at him incredulous.

"What about Elizabeth and the others?" John bit his lip. He stared at the group of blue things and the Old Man. They didn't seem to be harming the girls and Oliver. John looked around the clearing. There was nowhere to hide. The sun fell on James' face. John looked up.

"Yes." He whispered. The two boys were no amateurs in tree climbing. Even though there were no lower branches, they could still scramble up the trunk. James was faster than John and easily reached the higher limbs. The two boys sat panting on the branch. John turned to James. They both broke into smiles and laughed. They scrambled across branches and crawled across limbs to reach the neighbouring trees.

"We'll go this way. This will lead us back to nanna and pa's." James stopped before John. John looked thoughtful before answering.

"Okay. Let's hope it's the right one!" The two boys changed their stance slightly and moved forward. It was almost fun creeping around in the foliage, but John couldn't forget his sisters somewhere down below, at the mercy of the Old Man. James was worried about his cousins, running around the woods. Why had they ever come here?

Back down on the ground, the captain of the naiads smiled. The Old Man had lost his prey. Coming back to the conversation, he frowned.

"Manawydan, you are beginning to bore me. The girls and boy are mine, you have the two boys." The Old Man shook his head.

"No, no, no. You are very much mistaken Captain Teyrnon. All of the children are mine. I trapped them and led them here. It was all my work. You cannot just take these children because I have others." The Captain smirked.

"Yes well, I do not think you are very much suited to looking after children. Those two boys have escaped you." The Old Man spun around and shrieked. He ran down to where his fire had nearly burnt out. The Naiads laughed and laughed. Oliver blinked. Why were the others so loud? He was _trying_ to sleep. Oliver sat up, ready to yell.

"Shut –" Oliver gulped as he realised who was standing before him. At least a dozen blue creatures were standing around him, and laughing. Now though, they were staring down at him. Oliver jumped backwards on top of Elizabeth. She immediately woke up.

"Oliver? What the – " Elizabeth had seen the naiads. She screamed and scrambled backwards as well. She turned to Agnes.

"Aggie? Wake up. Wake up, wake up." Elizabeth started shaking Agnes. She blearily opened her eyes.

"Elizabeth? Stop it."

"You're up, okay, okay. Now stand up, stand up!" Agnes pulled herself up. The Naiads stood there watching. One of the cheekier Naiads waved at her and she screamed. Elizabeth tried to stand as tall as she could with Oliver clinging to her on one side and Agnes on the other. The naiads had surrounded the entire ring of mushrooms. The children pressed themselves into each other. Elizabeth could feel Oliver and Aggie's hearts racing. The tallest naiad stepped forward. Elizabeth gulped. Captain Teyrnon bowed his head slightly. Elizabeth's eyes widened and she managed a sort of twitch. One of the younger naiads sniggered before being reprimanded by an older naiad. Captain Teyrnon smiled.

"Hello young girl." Elizabeth's eyes were panning the naiads. They didn't seem to be coming any closer.

"Hello." Elizabeth croaked. Agnes shivered against her and she hugged her closer.

"What are you doing in woods such as these?" Captain Teyrnon added a sympathetic look to his face. Elizabeth tried to relax a little.

"We were just exploring, and then that Old Man," She nodded in the direction of Manawydan.

"He just started messing around and got us into all kinds of trouble." The naiad raised his eyebrows. Elizabeth just shrugged.

"Well my cousin Jane, she got chased off by little bee things, and then Fred went after her. So then my brothers got frozen, and then Amelia disappeared over there, and we are just standing here." Captain Teyrnon crossed his arms. So the children didn't know they were stuck in a fairy domain. His face broke into the smallest of smiles; this could work to his advantage.

"So what are you going to do?" Elizabeth looked thoughtful.

"Well I guess just wait for them all to come back. I mean we can't go back to our family without them."

"You have others?" Captain Teyrnon frowned.

"Why yes. Oh course." Elizabeth frowned, counting off her fingers.

"There are my parents, Oliver's parents, our aunties, our uncles and our grandparents. They are all back at the house." There was a disturbance among the naiads, there were too many that would miss them. They can't take them now. Captain Teyrnon silenced them with a look. He turned back to the three children.

"Well I am sorry to burst your bubble, but if you stay where you are, you will soon be in trouble as well."

Oliver, sick of hiding behind his cousin, stepped forward.

"What do you mean?" Captain Teyrnon looked bemused. He looked back at his crew and they laughed.

"Look where you standing." The three children looked around them. Agnes frowned. There was nothing around them but mushrooms. Nothing but mushrooms…Agnes pulled down on Elizabeth's dress.

"We're in a fairy circle Elizabeth." She whispered so quietly that Elizabeth couldn't hear at first.

"What? Speak up!" Agnes looked so fearful Elizabeth lowered her tone.

"C'mon. You can tell me. What is it?"

"We are in a circle of mushrooms. A fairy circle." Agnes looked around at the naiads, scared. Elizabeth stood up slowly. She looked at the leader. He was tall, and his eyes were very squinty. He seemed to be very proud and he had this sly look on his face. He knew, Elizabeth almost stamped her foot; he knew what trouble they were in.

"So are you going to help us or what?" That was all Captain Teyrnon needed to hear.

Fred stopped in the middle of the path, panting. Ever since he had realized that Amelia was okay and Oliver was with the people of nod, he had been chasing Jane and he was getting no where. He had followed the fork in the road and run for almost an hour now, with no sign of Jane. Fred hadn't heard her scream for a while and this had him worried. He kept walking, not wanting to lose any distance he had made. The shrubbery around him looked so innocent, there were a couple of deer, a mother and baby grazing to his left and there were little birds flitting around everywhere. Frederick was wary though. They had all thought it was all fun and nice and look where that had got them. He grimaced.

"Jane! J-a-a-a-ane!" Fred yelled as loud as his vocal chords would allow. There was no response from the wood. He heard a scampering in the bushes, but it was only the deer running away. His face fell. How would he ever find Jane? The path went on forever and ever. Fred glanced over his shoulder. He stopped in the middle of the path. The path behind him had disappeared. Fred rubbed his eyes. This could not be happening. All he could was sigh and walk on. Eventually from his walking, Fred came to a small pond where the water looked clear and clean. Thirsty and tired Fred took a handful and drank. He was up to his fifth when the fairies appeared. They snuck up behind him. One of them took human form.

"Excuse me?" the deceiving fairy tapped Fred on the shoulder. He turned, half stunned, his hand still on its way to his mouth. He soon caught himself and scrambled into standing.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you drinking from my pond?" The fairy stood there smiling. Fredrick shrugged.

"I didn't know it was yours. If I had known, I never would have drank from it." Fredrick tried to smile back. The fairy seemed to think for a moment before answering.

"That's what they all say." From behind her a swarm of fairies came up and it was then that Fred knew he was gone. They all came for him at once, their stingers at the ready. Fred turned and ran. He followed the path. At first it was straight and the path smooth, but it suddenly curved and the ground became rougher and more uneven. Fred was well aware of the fairies chasing him. His legs screamed at him as the lactic acid built up ever more. Suddenly Fred tripped on a loose stone and fell to the ground. Then the fairies were upon him. They pierced his skin and Fred felt himself loosing consciousness. The last thing he saw was the smiling face of that hateful deceitful fairy.

When he awoke he found himself next to Jane. He jumped up.

"Jane!" Fred shook her, but it was clear that Jane was deeply asleep, as he had surely just been. Fred took the chance to look where he was. They were in something like a subterranean cave but it was lit like it was outside. Fred could this was because of the open roof, high above the siblings. He wondered how such a massive building could be for fairies and could fit the two of them in here. Jane stirred beside him and spoke, but Fred ignored it. Jane always slept talked. Fred lay back down beside her. There were no fairies near by, for that was surely what those things were. There was no real explanation for it, him and Jane had been abducted by fairies. How embarrassing. Fred yawned. How John and James would laugh when they heard what had happened. Fred laid his head beside Jane. The two of them could climb out of this prison surely, it was only as high as the trees at nana's and they climbed them with no real effort. Fred yawned again. It would all be over soon, surely. As Fred's eyes closed, he could have sworn that he saw hundreds of fairies covering himself and Jane with a blanket. The fairies stood over the two children, now the same size as the two of them. Most of the fairies were female, but there were one or two male fairies. Talia moved towards the girl child. She swept the hair off her face. She was quite small compared to the male child. Talia looked thoughtful. The two children looked very similar. She raised her eyebrows. Obviously they were brother and sister. Talia nodded and one of the male fairies stepped forward.

"What do you think we should do with these children?"

"What we always do?" The male fairy seemed nervous. Talia bit her lip. Something was holding her back.

Amelia burst out laughing yet again. Zan was so funny. He was the funniest dryad she knew. Amelia stopped laughing. He was the only dryad she knew. He had started to pour more tea when he noticed that she wasn't smiling anymore.

"What's the matter Amelia?" He placed the teapot back down on the table. She looked up at him.

"Well, I'm starting to worry about my brothers and my sister. And what about all my cousins too? They probably don't know where I am and I don't know if they know you took me. Well Fred knows I'm in here and he said something about Jane." Amelia frowned in concentration. Zan pushed his chair out from him.

"Well why don't we go look?" the two of the walked out to the central part of the tree and then walked out. Amelia felt the weirdest sensation, as if she wasn't a part of the tree anymore. But then had she ever been? She wondered. The scene which met her eyes when they left the tree was startling, to say the least. Elizabeth was standing there, hands on hips, talking to some ugly blue thing, which seemed to be half human, half fish. Amelia then realised there was more of those things surrounding Elizabeth, Agnes and Ollie! Amelia felt a scream rise in her throat but Zan covered her mouth and led her to some undergrowth. They hid, watching. The three children didn't seem to be scared of the blue things, just wary. Zan ran his tongue over his teeth. He hadn't seen this many naiads out of the water since, well since…Zan shook his head. He wouldn't make the same mistakes as last time. He turned to Amelia. She gave him such a terrified look he felt sorry for her.

"Hey don't worry, I think the blonde girl has it all under control."

"Yeah, that's Elizabeth. She's good at debating." Amelia was chewing her lip. Zan opened his mouth but she shushed him and tried to listen. Elizabeth seemed to be trying to make a deal.

"You know we're stuck. Why won't you just help us get out?" Amelia watched as a blue thing, a naiad she now knew, who seemed to be the leader scratch his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, you see the thing is Miss Elizabeth is that we can't do that, unless we make a deal."

"We don't have anything to make a deal with. There's just the three of us." Elizabeth had a look that said it all. The captain shook his head.

"Oh but you do. Your brothers seemed very able and I need some new additions to my crew. Find your brothers, bring them to me and we'll let you go free."

Elizabeth was quiet for a long time.

"What if I don't?"

Captain Teyrnon smiled.

"Well, let's just say that isn't an option."

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Sorry, but it is. Like I would turn in my own brothers."

The naiads murmured insults towards the children.

"Quiet!" Captain Teyrnon shouted. He turned back to the three children.

"It's not as if we have to rescue you, you know. The fairies would be glad of a feast." He hadn't turned half way around before Elizabeth shouted,

"Wait! What did you say about the fairies?"

"Oh nothing, it's just that they haven't had anything to feast on for a long while. Not since…" Captain Teyrnon trailed off looking into the distance. A naiad coughed, bringing him out of his daydream.

"So what's it going to be, you or your brothers?" He smiled, but Elizabeth found no comfort in it.


End file.
